by DeNeen L. Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Photo by Michael S. Williamson/Washington Post
Gentrification was the subject the students in the Young Playwrights' Theater were assigned to tackle and make into a play. Some students had never heard of the word, although they were living in the midst of it, walking through it each school day in Columbia Heights where their after-school program on playwriting is located. Watching stores go up and trees come down, and neighbors disappearing and new people coming in and the bright lights of Target and Best Buy replacing dingy old buildings. At least some people thought they were dingy.
The staged reading is a pivotal moment in a playwright’s creative process. The first time the written word is spoken aloud and interpreted by actors is a moment full of power and magic. This is when jokes land in appreciative guffaws or fall flat in silence, when a play finds its rhythm and begins to chart its course. It is a thrilling, exciting time for our young playwrights and we invite you to be a part of the magic. 
How can theater help us bridge the gentrification gap? 
